Every day, Executive Chef Lindsey Ayala fires up a smoker outside the Crowne Plaza hotel in Crystal City and feeds the fire with hickory wood.
She is smoking meats “low and slow,” slathering them with scratch-made sauces and serving sides such as mac and cheese, collard greens, and cheddar cornbread for a new pop-up restaurant concept within the hotel called Tom Bones BBQ.
(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) A new Ethiopian restaurant on Columbia Pike could help fill the vegan and vegetarian option gap near the S. Glebe Road intersection after the closure of Elizabeth’s Counter.
The restaurant is called Greens N Teff (3203 Columbia Pike), reflecting the restaurant’s meat-free menu and traditional Ethiopian grain teff. Beakal Melaku, one of the restaurant’s owners, said the restaurant had been in planning before the pandemic started and was originally going to have meat but took a green turn over time.
Patrons of the novelty pasta vending machine in Shirlington rejoice: the restaurant behind the dinner dispenser, Stellina Pizzeria and Market, opens this afternoon (Friday).
After some holiday-season delays set the opening back two months, the pizza shop in the Village at Shirlington will start serving customers at 4 p.m.
(Update 5:45 p.m.) The popular D.C.-based Chinese-American restaurant Lucky Danger is opening an Arlington outpost, as first reported by Washingtonian.
The new eatery will be located at Westpost, the shopping center formerly known as Pentagon Row, at 1101 S. Joyce Street. It takes the place of Aabee Express Mediterranean, which closed in August and was next to the F45 training studio.
Planned coffee shop and restaurant The Freshman, at 2011 Crystal Drive in Crystal City, could open in a few months after being in the works for a little over two years.
Owner Nick Freshman told ARLnow that he’s looking at opening The Freshman sometime in April or May, though no date is set in stone yet.
Boston-based Tatte Bakery and Cafe is coming to fill a Baja Fresh-sized hole in Clarendon at 2805 Clarendon Blvd.
The company recently filed for a permit to build a new bakery within the existing building, adding new interior partitions and finishes throughout the facility.
Locals can now buy handmade pasta and sauces from a vending machine outside the future home of Stellina Pizzeria, a soon-to-open Italian restaurant and market in Shirlington.
The machine delivers food in a pandemic-friendly way and helps preview the opening of the restaurant in the former Cafe Pizzaiolo space at 2800 S. Randolph Street, co-owner Antonio Matarazzo said.
A new restaurant called Ballston Local is coming to the former location of Stageplate Bistro at 900 N. Glebe Road.
One of the co-owners confirmed with ARLnow that Ballston Local could open in late April or early May after some renovations to the space. The partners, who do not wish to be named yet, want to time the opening with springtime and more positive news about the coronavirus vaccine.
After 10 months of delays, D.C. coffee favorite Sweet Science Coffee opened its doors on Monday inside the former Java Shack building in Courthouse.
The soft opening this week will culminate in an open house on Saturday, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with coffee and pastry samples. The shop is open from 8 a.m.-p.m. this week, and this coming Monday will transition to its regular hours of 7 a.m.-4 p.m.
At the start of the pandemic, Arlington Kabob co-owner Susan Clementi spent 20 hours a day trying to coronavirus-proof her restaurant. She did not have time, or the financial knowledge, to navigate the Paycheck Protection Program.
When she tried to hire legal help, the application fees amounted to $5,000. Clementi realized she had to do it herself.
National taco and tequila chain Bartaco is opening its new Ballston Quarter location today.
The restaurant, which serves “fresh, upscale street food with a coastal vibe in a relaxed environment,” will be open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is opening after a year of construction.
A new fast-casual Indian cuisine spot has just opened in Ballston Quarter’s food hall.
Bollywood Bistro Express turned on the stove on January 1 in Quarter Market, joining other fast casual concepts like Sloppy Mama’s Barbeque and Turu’s by Timber Pizza in the mall’s lower level.
